The Most Profitable Backpacker Jobs In Asia: A blog about the best jobs to hire backpackers around Asia.
If you want to make money while travelling, check out these awesome and profitable jobs for backpackers in Asia. You can stay on the road longer with a little extra cash in your pocket.
In this article, I will share with you some of the best backpacker jobs in Asia that I have come across while living and working in South East Asia. As a matter of fact, I even made a whole website dedicated to backpacker jobs called BackpackerJobList.com
Picking fruit is definitely one of the most popular ways to make money while travelling around Australia or New Zealand. There are thousands of backpackers that work on farms every year and get paid quite well for it.
When you’re picking fruits you also don’t need any qualifications so it’s easy for everyone to get involved. If you want to give it a try, check out our fruit picking guide for more information about this type of work.
A few months ago, I wrote a post on “The most profitable backpacker jobs around the world”. Since then I have had countless emails from backpackers around Asia saying something like this:
“I am travelling through Thailand and Cambodia and need to work in order to continue my travels. What are the best jobs for backpackers in this part of the world?”
My answer has always been the same:
“Look for an English teaching job.”
A lot of backpackers are looking for part time work to support their travelling habit. I have been working with Backpacker Job Board since November last year and a lot of backpackers are looking for easy and quick jobs to get some cash around Asia.
The most popular job for backpackers is teaching English and if you can find a job in a big city like Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Singapore it will help you earn a good wage. There are also plenty of local jobs that pay decent money as well if you are prepared to work hard.
In my experience, the best paying jobs are those that require native English speakers. If you can speak English fluently, you have an excellent chance of getting one of the following jobs.
1. Private tutoring: Private tutoring is probably the most profitable job for backpackers in Asia. You can typically find private tutoring jobs on Craigslist or Korean websites like Dave’s ESL Cafe (Korea). There are always plenty of parents who want to improve their children’s English skills so if you’re a native English speaker and confident enough to teach kids then this could be your golden ticket!
2. Dental assistant: Another great option for earning top dollars is dental assisting! The dentist I worked for paid me
In this article I will share with you some of the most profitable backpacker jobs I have come across in Asia. And although these opportunities sound like a great way to make money, they are not easy jobs to come by. You may have to do a lot of legwork and haggling to come across some of these opportunities, but it will all be worth it in the end.
Busking
One of the most traditional ways for backpackers to make money on their travels is busking. This has been around for years and can be found in almost every major city around the world. But Asia is where I think busking really thrives. If you are a musician or even just good at performing then busking is a great way to make a bit of extra money on your travels.
In my experience, big cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong are just brimming with potential. There are so many people walking the streets that it would be impossible not to find an audience or two who would stand around listening to your music and giving you tips. Although you will be competing against many other street performers and musicians, there is always room for another act if you have something special that no one else has got.
There are certain rules when it comes
Oh, this is a great idea! We’re a couple of backpackers and have been busking in Spain, Italy and France so far. It’s been a great way to get some extra cash but also meet so many wonderful people.
It’s so easy to do. You just set up your guitar case or hat nearby, get your instrument out and start playing. Here in Europe, you’ll hear all kinds of music – from reggae, jazz and pop to classical – on the streets. It’s quite common so it’s accepted by most people. And besides the money that comes in, more often than not people will come and talk to you, ask you questions about your travels and even tell you a little bit about their lives. I’ve had some really amazing conversations with individuals all over Europe while busking at different locations.
We have yet to make enough money busking to cover our entire budget but we do make enough that sometimes we can buy dinner or a souvenir for ourselves instead of depending on our savings.
If you’re going to be travelling around Asia anyways, why not give it a try? 🙂
Best of luck!
It was a cold day in winter and I had bounced out of bed at 5.30am to catch the train from my home town to central London. I was excited because today was the day that I was going to see my favourite band, The Killers, perform live for the first time.
I arrived at London Victoria train station at 8am and stood outside of the Apollo Theatre shivering as I waited for the box office to open at 9am so that I could collect my ticket. There were two men playing music on guitars, singing and dancing in front of us and it didn’t take me long to realise that these guys were trying to earn some money from singing and playing their guitars in the street.
A slight grin appeared on my face.
I’ve always been curious about people who busk in the street for a living – how do they get started, what do they really earn, what is their life like? But unfortunately, I have never had the chance to ask them face-to-face.
So today I thought would be my opportunity.
Prague, Czech Republic
A group of singers approaching a classical musician to listen him play, but then they started singing.
And then the crowd joined in.